Chapter 104. Blood of the Blood Demon

While the Blood Sect member noisily chattered away, So-hwa took in the sight of the Blood Demon’s estate before her eyes.

A pavilion soared so high it looked like it could reach the night sky.

Its shape was very familiar.

It looked exactly like the Platinum Pavilion in Wuhan.

Looking at the pure white pavilion, the Blue Blood Hall Lord muttered a curse.

“Every time I see it, it pisses me off. A heretic, yet their taste is so damned lofty.”

The Blue Blood Hall Lord spewed curses as he walked. Then, with a tense look, he glanced back.

“Ah, the Blood Demon might be sleeping, so we’d better be quiet from here on.”

“……”

Wasn’t he the one who kept talking? She hadn’t made a sound once.

At that moment, an uneasy voice came from ahead.

“But that’s weird. Was Five Minerals Powder’s effect always this long?”

“……”

“Tsk, maybe it works especially well on people from the Central Plains?”

“……”

"Whatever it is, it's a good thing. Heh heh, we're almost there, so just a little more effort."

The Blue Blood Hall Lord was not a person of complex thoughts. So-hwa understood now why Haerak said his nature was dull.

As they drew closer to the pavilion resembling the Platinum Pavilion, two other pavilions hidden behind it came into view.

They looked similar in structure to Platinum Pavilion, but the one directly behind was red, and the one behind that was black.

Among the black and white, the red pavilion stood out as the most ornate.

A golden dragon wound its way up the red pillars, as if constricting the structure.

So-hwa’s hand instinctively clenched with strength.

It was because she recalled the words of the Alliance Leader.

The extravagant pavilion that the Blood Sect members had guarded with their lives.

The Alliance Leader had said an old woman had once been imprisoned within it. But it would be empty now. In this life, that sorceress had taken her own life early on.

As if recognizing the Blue Blood Hall Lord, the door to the pavilion opened on its own.

Creak.

Beyond the open door, a red interior came into view. It resembled the inside of a white serpent with its mouth wide open. The sight of the red flesh exposed was chilling.

Glancing back at So-hwa, the Blue Blood Hall Lord clicked his tongue.

"Tsk. How boring—it’s no fun when an outsider enters Jin Yin Mountain and remains so calm. The effects of the drug had better wear off before you meet the Lord Blood Demon."

Bang.

Just then, a loud noise rang out from behind as the door shut, and a person emerged from the pavilion.

It was the first Blood Sect member they had encountered since entering Jin Yin Mountain.

Dressed neatly in pure white robes, they looked like mere attendants—but they weren’t. The qi emanating from them said otherwise. Though they tried to conceal it, the unpleasant blood scent leaking out made their level obvious.

A pallid-faced Blood Sect member gave a respectful bow and spoke.

“Greetings, Blue Blood Hall Lord.”

“Yes. I arrived a day earlier than planned. Something unexpected happened… Ah, is Lord Blood Demon inside?”

At the Hall Lord’s question, the sect member shook his head.

“He has gone to the Intelligence Hall for a moment.”

“Intelligence Hall? Why would he go there?”

The sect member’s gaze subtly shifted behind, toward So-hwa. Catching the look, the Hall Lord let out a laugh.

“It’s fine. I fed her Five Minerals Powder—she’s not in her right mind. Even if she hears, I’ll feed her more Five Minerals Powder later and wipe her memory, so don’t worry.”

Though the Hall Lord said this, the Blood Sect member silently remained expressionless. The Hall Lord, seemingly used to such behavior, sighed.

“Agh, you stiff lot. Well, I suppose being cautious isn’t bad. So, where should I wait?”

“Please rest and recover from your journey first. A bath and meal have been prepared.”

Though it sounded like a considerate gesture, the Hall Lord frowned in displeasure, perhaps taking it as an insult.

“I only arrived one day early, and I’m being endlessly questioned. Didn’t I say there were circumstances? The Alliance Leader of the Murim suddenly tried to bring Tang So-hwa into his quarters, so I had to extract her in a hurry.”

“Yes.”

The man responded dryly.

Placing a hand on his waist, the Hall Lord grumbled in complaint.

“Hah. Didn’t I pass the test like the rest of you?”

“However, the one who broke the schedule is none other than the Blue Blood Hall Lord, so it cannot be helped.”

“…That leaves me with nothing to say.”

The Hall Lord frowned but did not insist further. Since the Blood Sect members were able to easily change their appearance, they were subjected to more suspicion.

So-hwa listened closely to their exchange.

She began to see the outline of their hierarchy and relationships.

The Blood Sect member dressed in white did not appear to be high-ranking.

The Hall Lord addressed him with informal speech, while the sect member used honorifics.

However, the sect member spoke with a commanding tone. And the Hall Lord didn’t defy him.

Though the man didn’t seem to possess particularly strong martial prowess, he clearly did not need to rely on rank alone to perform his duties.

In the Murim, there were positions where such an attitude was highly regarded.

Guards and gatekeepers.

It was unlikely that those protecting the Blood Demon would be this incompetent—these men were probably gatekeepers.

‘So the gatekeeper ( 閽人) was referring to them?’

So-hwa took in the sight of the gatekeeper and then glanced behind her.

‘This must be the real entrance.’

This pavilion appeared to be a real pavilion, not an illusion.

She could see a cascade of red stairs pouring down like a waterfall.

So-hwa recalled the highest floor of Platinum Pavilion.

Haerak’s chamber, from which all of Wuhan could be seen.

If the Platinum Pavilion in Hubei had been modeled after the Blood Demon’s estate, then his bedchamber would also be on the top floor.

After confirming the stairs, So-hwa slowly lowered her gaze—and in that moment, her eyes met those of the gatekeeper.

It lasted but an instant, yet the gatekeeper’s eyes narrowed.

Just as he seemed about to speak, as if sensing something—

Tatadatatat.

Footsteps came rapidly down the stairs.

“Gatekeeper.”

The man approached the gatekeeper, who had been speaking with the Hall Lord, and whispered something to him. Upon hearing the message, the gatekeeper turned his head toward the Hall Lord.

“Lord Blood Demon has granted an audience.”

Without changing expression, he reversed his earlier words.

“Please proceed upstairs at once.”

The Hall Lord sneered as he smiled.

“I thought you said he went to the Intelligence Hall?”

“Yes.”

“So did he go, or were you lying?”

“Whether he returned already or changed his mind—I do not know. I merely convey his will.”

Watching the gatekeeper answer like a wooden puppet, the Hall Lord mocked him as a dense fellow, but the gatekeeper said nothing.

He simply stepped aside to allow them to ascend the stairs.

The Hall Lord glanced at So-hwa.

“Let’s go. Since Lord Blood Demon granted the audience so quickly, it must mean he’s eager to see you. There’s no time to waste.”

With the wordplay over, the Hall Lord quickly moved forward.

As he passed the gatekeeper, he gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Well done. Just like now, do not let your suspicion falter."

The Hall Lord's tone shifted, as if he had been deliberately provoking them.

But no reply came from the gatekeeper. Not even a trace of presence could be felt.

So-hwa instinctively looked behind her.

At some point, the corridor had become completely empty.

Her brows furrowed.

Divine art? Could such a martial art even exist in this world?

Phenomena that defied logic kept unfolding one after another. She braced herself and began ascending the stairs.

The higher she climbed, the harder it became to breathe.

It was due to the intensifying stench of blood. Not the scent of freshly drawn blood, but the repulsive stench of blood that had long since stagnated and rotted.

At last, when she reached the very top, So-hwa’s gaze darkened.

Everything was black and crimson.

If Haerak’s Platinum Pavilion had all its windows open, this place was sealed off on all sides with black and crimson walls.

She soon realized the red walls were not painted but soaked fabric—stained with blood.

Nausea welled up in her throat.

Though gold drapes and luxurious ornaments were scattered throughout, none of it registered in her vision, buried as it was beneath the blood-colored walls.

Only the sickening urge to escape this room as soon as possible filled her.

Thud.

Suddenly, the Hall Lord dropped to his knees. He silently lowered his gaze to the floor.

So-hwa followed his line of sight and flinched.

A massive man stood beside a black pillar. His black robes and hair, which trailed along the floor, blended with the pillar’s shadow, making him nearly invisible at first glance.

He emitted no presence. Not even a hint of internal energy.

As if reading her expression, the man slowly curved his blood-red lips.

“Jin Su left behind something rather amusing.”

So-hwa narrowed her eyes at the incomprehensible words.

The Blood Demon’s red pupils slowly moved, locking onto her. As he engraved her features into his pupils, he spoke.

“Blood is truly fascinating. How can it reproduce something so identical? What does it contain that it can replicate both the shell and the essence so perfectly? Even as time passes, it reveals its nature with honesty—it’s wondrous.”

Before she realized it, he was standing right in front of her.

“Though it's been tainted by the Tang Clan’s impurities, it’s also absorbed the Tang Clan’s arts, so that degree of murkiness is not a loss.”

The Blood Demon stroked So-hwa’s cheek.

“I don’t know how much of me is within you, but as it was so long ago, it can’t be much. That means it will work. A very fortunate thing for you.”

His fingers that had traced her cheek now pressed against her lower lip.

The Blood Demon pried open her mouth and pushed his thumb inside.

A sharp sensation spread across her tongue. She could taste blood—it seemed the Blood Demon had slit her tongue with his nail.

He moved his finger slowly, brushing her teeth.

So-hwa tried to endure and watch what he was doing, but she couldn't hold back and pulled away. An unpleasant wave had risen in her mouth.

“Ptui.”

She spat out the blood and flinched.

Black insects writhed within the blood.

Her gaze snapped upward.

Black droplets of blood were falling from the tip of the Blood Demon’s finger.

“How strange.”

His eyes locked onto the wriggling Poison gu on the floor. He didn’t seem the least bit interested in the wound on his finger.

“If even a single drop had entered, it should’ve taken root.”

His suspicious gaze rose and fixed on So-hwa.

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(T/N): So… Tang So-hwa has the Blood Demon’s blood. I wonder where it came from? Maybe from her mother? Either way, she’s being recklessly foolish this time, facing the Blood Demon alone.

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